Middle East Businesses Facing International Challenges According to Survey
Organisations conducting business in the Middle East are being faced with significant hurdles when it comes to conducting international business according to a new survey by CS Global Partners.
Aimed at finding more about the state of business in the Middle East, the survey found that 67% of respondents believe that the administrative processes of other countries are a barrier to further opportunities, 75% also said that they felt limited by the business opportunities within the regions at least some of the time.
International travel was found to be a large part of business for Middle East companies, as 60% said that they travelled internationally for business purposes at least every three months if not more, motivated largely by the prospect of expansion and ways to diversify the business.
The survey was conducted by international advisory for citizenship and residency, CS Global Partners, in order to understand the challenges and barriers facing businesses in the MENA region.
CEO of CS Global Partners, Micha Emmett, said the survey provides significant insight to the global citizen working in the Middle East:
“In a highly globalised world of constant and sometimes unpredictable change, we wanted to better understand the challenges that those conducting business in the Middle East face.
“Business professionals around the world are always looking toward the next big opportunity, but there are times when the political or economic climate affects their business goals and ambitions.
“This survey shows that while there is an appetite to diversify and expand business in the Middle East, the logistics can be a hindrance to growth and progress.”
25% of respondents cited foreign laws and regulations to be the biggest hurdle, while 20% acknowledged that currency rates were also a challenge to their international frameworks.
Of those surveyed, 66% of Middle East business professionals conduct most of their business in Egypt, making it the region that most professionals would like to invest in.
